Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lessened its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 12.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,265,652 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 463,621 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for about 1.0% of Lord Abbett & CO. LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $286,692,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,532,331,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 9,896.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $697,029,000 after acquiring an additional 7,860,306 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 30.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 33,292,749 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,922,770,000 after acquiring an additional 7,706,201 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 28,684.8% during the first quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 4,229,354 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $371,295,000 after acquiring an additional 4,214,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.
Walmart Stock Down 2.5%
Walmart stock opened at $101.05 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.85 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $806.42 billion, a PE ratio of 43.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.66. The stock's fifty day moving average is $97.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.55.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Walmart's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Walmart Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a dividend yield of 90.0%. Walmart's payout ratio is 40.17%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart
In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total transaction of $1,248,712.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 932,313 shares of the company's stock, valued at $88,700,258.82. This trade represents a 1.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total value of $380,560.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,056,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,511,128.70. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 144,334 shares of company stock valued at $13,913,350. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
WMT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Mizuho increased their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.87.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Walmart
About Walmart
(
Free Report)
Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.
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